Peter Renzulli, a Rutgers Business School part-time lecturer known to students of his accounting classes as an exacting professor and deeply committed mentor, died on Dec. 20 along with his 18-year-old son Daniel, a Michigan State University student, after their Piper Malibu crashed off the coast of Florida.

The father and son are survived by Peter’s wife, Lori, and daughter, Meredith, a junior at Michigan State.

“Our campus community joins in sympathy for the family of Peter Renzulli and Daniel Renzulli as they mourn their devastating loss,” Rutgers University–New Brunswick Interim Chancellor Christopher Molloy said. “Peter’s memory will live on in the lasting inspiration he provided for many students.”

Rutgers Business School Dean Lei Lei said, “As a proud RBS alum, Pete taught Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting and Accounting for Engineers for many years. His excellence in classroom teaching and his enthusiastic efforts to help students with jobs and case competitions enhanced the learning experience of many.”

“Students knew two things about Peter: His class wasn’t easy, though you’d do well if you put in the work; and he was always willing to run the extra mile for his students, for example by coaching them in ‘case competitions’ where they could solve problems, build their communications skills and become more marketable to potential employers,” said Leonard Goodman, professor and vice chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the Rutgers Business School.

Goodman was Renzulli’s colleague and friend – and had been his professor three decades ago, when Renzulli earned his accounting degree at Rutgers–New Brunswick. Noting that Renzulli returned to Rutgers­ to earn an Executive Master of Business Administration degree in 2012, Goodman called him a “lifetime learner who was always trying new things for his own enrichment and to better teach his students and help their careers.”

Lori Renzulli said her husband, a Bridgewater resident with a CPA office in Somerville and a CNN commentator on financial matters, was very proud of Rutgers as an alumnus and professor, and “wanted the best for his students. He wanted them to understand and carry the information with them, not just for the next exam but as future professionals, as peers he might work with post-graduation. He was concerned not just for their academic success, but their mental and emotional wellbeing.”

She recalled an email from a student who had transferred to Rutgers from a community college and “felt challenged on every corner, overwhelmed,” but said “your husband made sure my mental health was put first, and even recommended a therapist for my anxiety. He looked out for me.”

In addition to being compassionate, Renzulli, who began teaching at Rutgers in 2011, was exacting, concerned with making sure his students understood how to communicate effectively and make the right impression in the professional world.

Lori Renzulli said his end-of-semester lectures “reminded the students that we’re all Scarlet Knights, all part of the Rutgers family, and have to look out for each other.”